Sporminore
Sporminore is a small municipality in the Val di Non, in Trentino, marking the valley's southern gateway toward the Piana Rotalian...
Updated 21 July 2026
This season · July · Summer
What to do in Sporminore now
The story
The story of Sporminore
Sporminore Between the Val di Non and the Piana Rotaliana
Sporminore occupies the southernmost tip of the Val di Non, the valley carved by the Noce river as it descends from the mountains to its confluence with the Adige, near Mezzolombardo, in the Piana Rotaliana. The village lies on the right bank of the Noce, set between the two watercourses that shape its landscape, the Rio Sporeggio and the Rio Lovernatico, at 515 metres above sea level at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites. The municipal territory, covering about 17 square kilometres, borders Campodenno, Ton and Spormaggiore, the latter clearly distinct from Sporminore even though it is its closest neighbour. This hinge position, between the valley's orchards and the first Dolomite foothills, made Sporminore for centuries a crossing point toward the Rotaliana and, at the same time, a mountain farming outpost, an identity the village still keeps today in its rural fabric and in the rhythm set by the fruit-growing seasons.
The Orchards and Apples of the Val di Non
Sporminore's agriculture is marked, as in the whole Val di Non, by apple growing, protected by the Melinda brand and by the Mela Val di Non DOP designation, the first apple in Europe to receive this recognition. Orchards cover the slopes around the village almost up to its edges, painting, in spring at blossom time, a white landscape that is among the most recognisable images of the valley. Sporminore is home to the Consorzio Ortofrutticolo del Lovernatico, a collection and storage facility for the fruit that reflects how much fruit growing weighs on the local economy, alongside numerous family-run farms working the land between the village and the nearby hamlets. Walking the farm tracks among the rows of trees, especially during the blossom or harvest months, remains one of the simplest and most authentic ways to get to know the agricultural face of this corner of Trentino.
The Canyons, Gorges and Trails Along the Streams
The landscape of Sporminore is cut by the two streams that mark its boundaries, the Rio Sporeggio and the Rio Lovernatico, both tributaries of the Noce and rich in steep, stony stretches that, higher up, take on the look of small gorges. The Lovernatico, also managed as a fishing reserve with stretches stocked for brown trout, drops with a marked change in elevation from the woods down to the valley floor, on a course that alternates wooded banks with rocky drops. Following the Sporeggio upstream, instead, leads into the eponymous Sporeggio Valley, the southern extension of the Val di Non enclosed between the Campa sub-group and Monte Fausior, which can be walked along trails 301 and 302 up to Malga Spora. These are routes suited to a half-day hike, allowing walkers to move in a short time from the apple-covered valley floor to conifer woods and the first high-altitude pastures of the Brenta Dolomites.
The Woods, the Landscape and Nature
The territory of Sporminore lies almost entirely within the Adamello Brenta Natural Park, the largest protected area in Trentino, and overlooks the Brenta Dolomites, recognised as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Spruce and beech woods climb from the orchards up to the highest elevations, in a still lightly built-up environment that is also home to the brown bear, whose presence is documented on the slopes toward the Sporeggio Valley. Among the village's natural curiosities is the Bus de la Spia, a karst cavity of speleological interest tied to a local legend claiming it is linked, through a secret passage, to Lake Molveno. Heading downhill instead, toward the Piana Rotaliana, the municipal territory extends into the Biotopo La Rocchetta, a protected wetland established in 1992 along the Noce, home above all to birdlife. A short distance away, in the neighbouring municipality of Spormaggiore, lies the Trentino Wildlife Park, a separate wildlife destination that can easily be combined with a visit to the area.
History and Experiences Among Castles and Churches
The history of Sporminore has long been tied to the Spaur family, who from the fourteenth century controlled the territory from nearby Castel Sporo, today partly in ruins, standing along the old Via Traversara leading toward the Giudicarie valleys. In the village, I Palazzi is still visible, the elegant gentry residence once belonging to the Spaur family, which still holds wrought ironwork considered among the finest in Trentino. The village is dominated by the parish church of the Addolorata, built between 1874 and 1879 and decorated with frescoes by Matteo Tevini, to which local tradition attaches the tale of a gift from Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, the famous Sissi. Administratively, Sporminore lost its autonomy for two decades, merged in 1928 into Spormaggiore, before becoming a separate municipality again in 1947. Today the village combines this historical memory with rural experiences, from walks among the orchards to visits to the small monuments in the centre and routes toward the Sporeggio Valley, in a balance between heritage and everyday farming life.
Not to be missed
- Castel Sporo and I Palazzi, testimonies of the Spaur family's rule
- The Chiesa dell'Addolorata with frescoes by Matteo Tevini
- A hike into the Sporeggio Valley toward Malga Spora
- The Bus de la Spia and the legend of the secret passage to Lake Molveno
- The Biotopo La Rocchetta along the Noce, toward the Piana Rotaliana
To see
What to see in Sporminore
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Sporminore
Jobs · JobFlow
